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The comic book thread
This thread is for all things comic book/graphic novel. I note that it's one nerdy topic we don't cover a lot here.
I've never been a comic book fan, when I was a kid my dad had a big collection of Phantoms that I read, I also got an issue of Nightcrawler, one of the Fantastic Four and a comic book version of Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back (complete with scenes deleted from the final movie, some of which were put back in in the Special Editions... Star Wars had a Jabba in it that was just a guy in a generic alien suit, and the omitted bits with the Wampa attack on Echo Base were in Empire. Wish it hadn't got all ripped up and lost, I think they're actually worth something these days... not that I'd sell). That was pretty much it for my comic book experience. A few years back my wife got Sandman because it was recommended to her, I read them too and they were awesome.
But then this year I decided my reading was getting way behind and I should dedicate all my morning and evening train trips to reading. So I went to the library and picked up some books, but while I was there I checked out the comic book section and they had a few. I thought I'd give them a go because I can read through them a lot faster than a book, so I could go through my library's collection pretty quick.
I've read a bunch now (next time I'm in the library I'll get a printout of my previous loans so I can remember them all), although I'm still a long way from being well-read comically. I haven't even gotten my hands on Dark Knight Returns... damn thing is always on loan or stolen...
Of the things I read, there were a lot of pretty crappy ones, but a few stand-outs. I got a little "best of the Spirit" recently, Will Eisner was a genius. Got to read more of those. Now that I've read it, I can see how it influenced some modern comics writers, he was way ahead of his time.
Everything by Alan Moore has been great. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was genius, although I felt volume 2 wasn't as cohesive as volume 1. I'm dying for him to release Black Dossier and Century (if that ever happens)... work faster, you bastard...
I read Smax, which was really good, but I wish I'd read Top Ten first, hate reading things out of order. Still having trouble getting my hands on that, may have to actually buy it.
There was a collection of Moore DC stories there as well, "The Universe of Alan Moore" I think, some were really good. The Killing Joke was just awesome. I also liked the Clayface story he did... now that I think about it it has a Spirit-esque quality...
The only Frank Miller I've read so far has been a Daredevil origin story (which was crappy and workmanlike), a couple of volumes of Sin City (Hell and Back and The Big Fat Kill, both pretty good but in the latter case I found it difficult to judge because I'd seen the movie version before reading the original, something I don't like doing. Luckily I didn't have that problem with League because the movie was so awful and completely unlike the graphic novels it didn't matter), and Hard Boiled, which so far I'd say is his best.
I read a few collected editions of back issues, I think it was early Fantastic Four (varied between intolerable and campy fun), and just recently the first bunch of Mister Miracle (of which a few issues made me wonder if I'd get through the whole thing, where others were entertaining). The best so far has been a collection of Uncanny X-Men (it was post-Giant Sized, I forget the issue numbers but it was around the 100s, it was just after Secret Wars). Good stuff, although Marvel does too many cross-overs... if I wanted to read about Nick Fury I'd read Nick Fury damnit, tell me more about X-Men... although the issue with the Power Pack in it was campy fun...
I also read Maus, which was very good. A holocaust story has to be pretty good to get past my ZOMG Not Another Bloody Story About The Holocaust reaction, so that's saying something.
This thread is for all things comic book/graphic novel. I note that it's one nerdy topic we don't cover a lot here.
I've never been a comic book fan, when I was a kid my dad had a big collection of Phantoms that I read, I also got an issue of Nightcrawler, one of the Fantastic Four and a comic book version of Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back (complete with scenes deleted from the final movie, some of which were put back in in the Special Editions... Star Wars had a Jabba in it that was just a guy in a generic alien suit, and the omitted bits with the Wampa attack on Echo Base were in Empire. Wish it hadn't got all ripped up and lost, I think they're actually worth something these days... not that I'd sell). That was pretty much it for my comic book experience. A few years back my wife got Sandman because it was recommended to her, I read them too and they were awesome.
But then this year I decided my reading was getting way behind and I should dedicate all my morning and evening train trips to reading. So I went to the library and picked up some books, but while I was there I checked out the comic book section and they had a few. I thought I'd give them a go because I can read through them a lot faster than a book, so I could go through my library's collection pretty quick.
I've read a bunch now (next time I'm in the library I'll get a printout of my previous loans so I can remember them all), although I'm still a long way from being well-read comically. I haven't even gotten my hands on Dark Knight Returns... damn thing is always on loan or stolen...
Of the things I read, there were a lot of pretty crappy ones, but a few stand-outs. I got a little "best of the Spirit" recently, Will Eisner was a genius. Got to read more of those. Now that I've read it, I can see how it influenced some modern comics writers, he was way ahead of his time.
Everything by Alan Moore has been great. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was genius, although I felt volume 2 wasn't as cohesive as volume 1. I'm dying for him to release Black Dossier and Century (if that ever happens)... work faster, you bastard...
I read Smax, which was really good, but I wish I'd read Top Ten first, hate reading things out of order. Still having trouble getting my hands on that, may have to actually buy it.
There was a collection of Moore DC stories there as well, "The Universe of Alan Moore" I think, some were really good. The Killing Joke was just awesome. I also liked the Clayface story he did... now that I think about it it has a Spirit-esque quality...
The only Frank Miller I've read so far has been a Daredevil origin story (which was crappy and workmanlike), a couple of volumes of Sin City (Hell and Back and The Big Fat Kill, both pretty good but in the latter case I found it difficult to judge because I'd seen the movie version before reading the original, something I don't like doing. Luckily I didn't have that problem with League because the movie was so awful and completely unlike the graphic novels it didn't matter), and Hard Boiled, which so far I'd say is his best.
I read a few collected editions of back issues, I think it was early Fantastic Four (varied between intolerable and campy fun), and just recently the first bunch of Mister Miracle (of which a few issues made me wonder if I'd get through the whole thing, where others were entertaining). The best so far has been a collection of Uncanny X-Men (it was post-Giant Sized, I forget the issue numbers but it was around the 100s, it was just after Secret Wars). Good stuff, although Marvel does too many cross-overs... if I wanted to read about Nick Fury I'd read Nick Fury damnit, tell me more about X-Men... although the issue with the Power Pack in it was campy fun...
I also read Maus, which was very good. A holocaust story has to be pretty good to get past my ZOMG Not Another Bloody Story About The Holocaust reaction, so that's saying something.